Since insect pests or mite will become resistant to insecticides or acaricides used for a period of time, it is necessary to invent continuously new compounds and compositions with improved insecticidal and/or acaricidal activity. Simultaneously, with the growing demands for agricultural and animal products, as well as the awareness on the environmental protection, the cost-effective or environmentally friendly novel insecticides or acaricides are always in demand.
Some 1-methylpyrazolyl acrylonitrile compounds and uses thereof were disclosed in CN1763003A, JP2003201280A, JP2003206281A and CN101367784A. The compound KC1 showed good insecticidal and acaricidal activity in JP2003206280A. It has been commercialized as a acaricide with the common name of cyenopyrafen, whose stereoisomer compound KC2 was also disclosed. The compound KC3 showed more than 80% mortality against spider mite at 400 ppm in CN101367784A.

Neither the preparation of 2-phenyl or substituted phenyl-3-(1-ethyl pyrazolyl) acrylonitrile compounds, nor their insecticidal or acaricidal activities is described in state of the arts.